Asian long-horned tick makes its way to U.S., but Canadian experts aren't concerned yet

A tick previously not found in North America has now been spotted in seven U.S. states, including border state New York.

Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

A tick previously not found in North America has been spotted in seven U.S. states, including bordering state New York.

The Asian long-horned tick, which lives in parts of Asia and Australia, can carry serious infections, some of which can be deadly.

“The tick has the potential to transmit infections to humans, but none of the ticks tested in North America has been infected,” said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital. “But they still have the potential.”

But again, he stressed, less than one per cent of Asian long-horned ticks in Asia actually have the syndrome, and it is not found in Australia either.

Not a concern yet

And because they are so new to North American climates, Bogoch said it is hard to pinpoint when and if Asian long-horned ticks will make their way into Canada. “It’s too soon to know but eyebrows go up when we have a new species in North America that has the potential to transmit infections to humans,” he continued. “Luckily, none of these ticks have any infections.”

The concern right now is a tick that carries Lyme disease, he adds, which he predicts will continue to spread across regions of Canada. “Ticks and other insects don’t care about boundaries.”